25 Feb 19 The forecast for tonight has been changing over the last couple of days and not in a manner I'd like. Initially it was for 6" of snow which suited me just fine - got those new tires installed on Friday and need to test them out - which dwindled to 1" and now is projected to miss us entirely. It was two weeks ago today that we made our trip to Sequim for some fun in the snow. A short distance west of the Hood Canal bridge, the route we take to get to Sequim, is an area of forest that has been virtually clear cut save for a few stragglers along the edge of the highway. They offer an interesting view either on their own or as the foreground for a shot of the Olympics in the distance. Generally I like to play with the latter, but on that snow day the former offered a really nice composition as an elder threesome surrounded by a large grouping of juveniles. The combination of trees, snow, and brilliant sunshine was more than I could resist so we stopped and I played with them for a few minutes before moving on to shoot the lavender farms and challenge the snow. This is my favorite of the shots I got. This is basically straight from the camera save for a small amount of cropping for composition. Light & Shadow Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/6400 sec @ f / 9.
12 Feb 19 Today we have a peek at what we saw on Sunday afternoon that made me want to get more of the same kinds of shots from at least one more lavender farm. Of course we saw it in technicolor but the silver screen mode is just as nice, at least in my opinion. The wind was a bit brisk when I was taking this shot and it played with us all day. By the time it fully settled down it was replaced by snow which was to become another large storm in Sequim for Monday and provide a serious couple of inches here in Eglon. As I write this the weather is unfortunately warming and we are getting rain. So by morning I'm thinking it is going to be really nasty which makes me glad we went shooting Sunday when we did. I heard from another about 30 minutes ago that the snowfall in the area has set a record for the month but if so I don't think by much as this is what I remember happening on a regular basis in my grade school years. Only back then we just called it winter and didn't think we had to give it names. I've cropped the original for best presentation and cleared up two sun flares, one on each side of the barn, obviously converted to B&W, plus kept the barn in color. Almost B & W Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/5000 sec @ f / 9.
11 Feb 19 The weather being what it was, and no way of being certain folks could get out to the main roads to get to church on Sunday, we thought we should play it smart and cancel all Sunday activities Saturday afternoon and so we did. By Sunday morning the skies were bright blue and the sun was presenting a beautiful landscape unlike anything we ever experienced growing up in the Puget Sound area. So as not to waste an opportunity, we packed Maggie, water, a snack, and the requisite camera gear and headed out. After all, if you can't have a Sunday Church worship service why not commune in the magnificent world provided us! Having received a mere 8" of snow here in Eglon, we headed for more challenge and having checked before departure road wise set out for Sequim where there was a reported 12' - 14" and it that wasn't enough westward a few more miles to Port Angeles where they claimed they got 21". Now we're talking snow, and power all the way at that. Two thirds of the way to our Sequim destination we passed one of my favorite lavender farms just as the sun was casting fantastic shadows across the lavender bushes. Stopped, turned around, and went back to shoot the fields which turned out quite nice. With that feather in my cap, decided to go visit my favorite lavender farm in Sequim to add another feather (thought a headdress would be nice). As we turned on to the one way one lane road that goes to it Jan wasn't so sure we should try but hey, we got a 4 wheel drive SUV with chains, kitty litter, come along, etc so what could go wrong? Made it adjacent to the farm, stopped, got some nice shots, and got back in the SUV and drove about a half block when the vehicle apparently decided to do un-requested battle with some ice and slid us into a ditch with about 3 feet of snow. No problem, we got 4 wheel drive! Yeah, well, that may work IF your wheels are actually on something they can grab and not stuck against the snow. Messed around for about an hour trying the heroics only retired military are capable of before calling for help (AAA). In the meantime a nice gentleman came by who had been watching us for the better part of that hour and tried to pull us out but his Jeep was just too light to do the trick. So while we were waiting for AAA to arrive - we were given a 4 hour window - called our Pastor to let him know we likely wouldn't be visiting. When I told him why he said no problem, I'm an Alaskan veteran, I'll be right there to get you out and maybe share Sunday's missed sermon. Meanwhile AAA got lost so he arrived to pull us out only to get stuck himself. Now the gentleman from AAA had a real opportunity. Took him about 25 minutes to winch us out after which he was going to help our Pastor. So he backed down the road a short distance to let us drive out and then he got stuck. He had to chain up and I'm not sure what else before helping our Pastor get his 4 wheel 3/4 T truck unstuck. All this started around 1400; it concluded around 1645. Fun, fun, fun. So our visit was short because it was getting very dark and starting to snow. We let Maggie and Hermie (a golden retriever and good friend of hers) take a little time to play in the snow. Then, deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, we departed, heading home before the snow got too bad. Got almost home when the same thing happened all over again. Fortunately, a couple passers by came to our rescue and pulled us out of the ditch. All-in-all a sorta fun experience as neither us or the vehicle got hurt EXCEPT I now need to determine what is occurring with this vehicle. The vehicle performed flawlessly during 4 heavy snow winters in MD, and had absolutely no problems in 2010 with that huge snowfall that paralyzed the city for a full week! Now, twice in one day seems like WAY MORE than a coincidence and it had the same problem 2 years ago in the snow, so it's off to see the SUV doctor after this snows goes away. This is straight from the camera except for the cloning out of a sign that added nothing. Lavender Drifts Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/1250 sec @ f / 9.
